Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Ziva - Painting of a Doberman Pinscher

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Ziva - Painting of a Doberman Pinscher

This is Ziva. She is a gentle kind girl with the most beautiful brown eyes.

I met her owners probably 7 years ago when creating another painting of a different dog for them. We met in the LA area and they did not have their dog with them. Fortunately, a few months later, I would be traveling in Northern California. We were able to met up so I could photograph their dog.

Jumping ahead several years, now it was Ziva's turn for her painting. We met up in Palm Springs where I could take photos of Ziva. She truly is a breathtaking girl - I fell in love with her. We took numerous photos of her for reference material. It was a difficult choice to pick a primary pose - Ziva is quite photogenic. The photo chosen was not an ideal photo of her ears being up and alert. The other reference photos allowed me to see different ear positions so the ear position could be changed in the painting. Also, there were some really circular highlights on her coat that were distracting in the painting. They were first painted in, but later I took them out. They just looked odd. My eye didn't question the highlights in the photos. But, in the painting, it just wasn't right and needed to be adjusted. Lastly, there was a significant shadow cast on her chest from her muzzle that didn't need to be in the painting. Photos are just a road map for me to get to "that" dog's painting but I am most certainly not attempting to copy a photo. My paintings have to be better than the photo or why have a painting.

http://www.dawnsecord.com/commissioninformation.html

The painting was finished several months ago.   It is always wonderful to ship the paintings to those who commissioned the work, but sad for the painting to leave my studio.   It is funny, they are like my children.   My heart is is every painting.

My normal system is to display the finished painting in my office for a week or two to clear my head.   I then take time to view the painting and make sure nothing jumps out that would need an adjustment.   It is amazing how a fresh eye can reveal things that previously went unnoticed. So much time is spent with each painting, it seems like I simply become too familiar with the piece.   A clean fresh eye is a great chance for me to do a double take.   More often than not, no changes are needed. Once in a while something jumps out that may need a little tweak.

Thank you to Ziva's family for having me paint for you again.   It is an honor.

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Pastel Painting in Progress - French Bulldog

Here is a painting in progress. The pastel paintings are done very much in the same way an oil painting is done. I start with a base color. Usually I work with a precolored surface. With oil painting I would lay in a foundation color so the white canvas wouldn't show through. So this is the same basis. Since I am right handed I work from left to right unless it is a landscape or still life in which case the entire surface is worked uniformly. With pet portraits, so I don't damage an area that is completed, the surface is worked from left to right. While working an area of the subject I lay in mid tone values first - then work light to dark. With pastels an artist can "fill the tooth" of the surface so it is important not to over work any areas. Once the entire subject is painted I go back and reinforce the lightest lights and darkest darks. My greatest area of interest is the eyes. If the eyes aren't right the entire painting will look odd. If the painting is about a sleeping animal it is important to convey the comfort of the animal.

Oil Painting in Process

The following pictures show an Oil Painting in process. The first images show my beginning sketch. I use a common pencil, ruler and an eraser. Once the beginning sketch is satisfactory the sketch is secured with a layer of black oil paint. When the first layer is dried I apply a base color over the entire canvas. I love working on a burnt sienna foundation. There are paintings where I start just working directly on the white canvas and there is no base layer or foundation. It really depends on the painting. From the base foundation I start layering colors. It is a slow process due to drying time. This is where it really becomes fun. I should really make a recording of my husband saying, "You're done - stop messing with it!" Thanks for taking a peek. This painting is of a cat named Lynxy!